Webinar Takeaways: OSHA’s On-Site Consultation Program
During a recent webinar hosted by the National Waste & Recycling Association, Bruce Love, a program analyst for the Occupational Safety & Health Administration’s (OSHA) Office of Small Business Assistance, discussed osha, which offers no-cost and confidential occupational safety and health services to small- and medium-sized businesses in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and several U.S. territories, with priority given to high- hazard worksites.
The program aligns with OSHA’s mission to assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance.
According to Love, OSHA’s On-Site Consultation Program has many benefits for small businesses, including finding and fixing hazards; training and educating workers; protecting workers from injuries and illnesses; increasing worker morale and productivity; participating in safety and health activities; complying with safety and health standards; avoiding costly citations; managers becoming more effective at their jobs; decreasing industry and illness rates; decreasing workers’ compensation costs; reducing equipment damage and product losses; and more.
The program also offers various economic benefits, which Love explained during the webinar. One of those benefits is having a strong safety culture can lead to a stronger financial position, and another is a 2018 study showed that On-Site Consultation generates benefits of $1.3 billion per year for the national economy.
Love also discussed the benefits of participating in the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP), which recognizes small business employers that operate exemplary safety and health management programs.
According to a study of small business employers in Ohio participating in SHARP, the average number of workers’ compensation claims decreased by 52 percent; the cost per claim decreased by 80 percent; the average lost time per claim decreased by 87 percent; and claims by million dollars of payroll decreased by 88 percent.
These programs run by OSHA help show that effective and efficient safety efforts can pay off.
Interested in learning more? Listen to a recording of the webinar here.
